A terrible tragedy will take place March 5-9 in the holy city of
Bethlehem. Our Lord's city of birth will host a conference
called, "Christ at the Checkpoint." Which Christ? Not the Christ
of the Bible. The premise of the event is that the Palestinians
live under brutal Israeli "occupation." It is supposedly so bad
that Israel is accused of apartheid-like treatment of the
Palestinians such as the "separation" experienced in South
Africa. The symbol for all of this is the wall of separation
between Palestinian territories and Israeli land. Their
perception is that this represents a military checkpoint.
Israel's perception -- and reality -- is that the wall saves
Israeli lives.
Some 30 Christian leaders will be gathering at the Bethlehem
Bible College to raise the banner of "Palestinian Liberation
Theology" as the only true hope for reconciliation and peace in
the Middle East. The target of the speakers will also be
Israel's divine right to the land.
"Christian Zionism" will be "brought into the conversation"
during the conference--but you can bet not in a friendly manner.
No matter how benign Christian Zionism is, the Left side of
Christianity's aisle believes we look forward to Armageddon and
we blindly root for the Israelis because they're the chief
players on the end-time stage and feel Israel has a right to
their land. If the truth were known, we're a puny band of
evangelical Christians who are even outcasts in most of the
major denominations today.
Christian Zionists are roundly scolded by this crowd. You can
read that here. Our biggest problem is that we take the Bible
literally! When did that almost become a crime? "Checkpoint"
folks say we Christian Zionists support the "occupation" but it
isn't an occupation! We rejoice that on May 14, 1948, God just
kept His word. Tony Campolo scolds us, too. We're blind
followers of Schofield and Darby and we need to get over it.
"Christ at the Checkpoint" says Christian Zionism is a political
movement that is "ethnocentric," privileging one people at the
expense of others. Christianity calls believers in Jesus to
focus on building God's kingdom on earth, says Checkpoint
publicity, and not futuristic speculations. It is tragic how
this bunch sweeps under the rug God's continued covenant with
Israel. These folks have no appreciation of the "last days"
spoken of so frequently in the Bible. "Christ at the Checkpoint"
theologians do not want to consider Jesus as the Messiah of the
Jewish people, someday returning to earth to set up His kingdom
in Jerusalem to rule as the last Davidic King. Then they would
have to acknowledge the continuance of the Abrahamic covenant
with the modern state of Israel.
"Palestinian Liberation Theology" is heralded, however. It is
all about the Palestinian struggle for "freedom" from their
"occupied land." Followers of this sentiment see the Israelis as
an "occupier" trying to oppress the Palestinians. Reality shows
that Israel has worked them into their society, given them seats
in the Israeli parliament, and given them a decent standard of
living. Israel gave the Palestinians so much freedom that they
let them elect the terror group Hamas to govern them. As a thank
you, Hamas shells Israeli towns and settlements regularly. This
conference will tell the world -- and the church -- that Israel
brings this on due to their repression.

Many of the participants are part of the "religious Left" but
some evangelicals show up yearly, including Lynne Hybels, wife
of Willow Creek's Pastor Bill Hybels. We believe she should know
better.
The most troubling person at such events is Vicar Stephen Sizer
who has a war against the Jews as well as Christian Zionists. It
seems he cannot -- or perhaps chooses not -- to see the
brutality of Israel's enemies. Sizer writes books against
Christians who stand with Israel but he has a distinct aversion
towards talking about Israelis being brutally slaughtered. To
him, the now-infamous wall represents repression rather than
safety.
To balance his position, Sizer needed to speak out a year ago
when a family was wiped out in Itamar, Israel. The Fogel family
has become the symbol of Palestinian aggression, not Israeli
aggression. In watching sessions of past Checkpoint conferences,
I hear little or no reference to the root of the conflict. I
hear a one-sided argument that is decidedly anti-Israel in tone
and a case consistently made for Israel as Goliath slaying David
every day.
The Checkpoint conference claims to oppose "all forms of
violence and racism." Yet a few of the Checkpoint speakers --
including Sizer -- have given me reason to question this. Why?
In part because at least Sizer seems to be a defender of the
Gaza flotilla sent to Israel in May 2010 by Turkish Islamists.
Those on the Turkish boat headed for Gaza were lovers of jihad.
Participants on that ship sang songs calling for the murder of
Jews.
I maintain you cannot have conservative Christians take an event
like "Christ at the Checkpoint" seriously when Stephen Sizer is
on the program unless you have a blatant Christian Zionist like
me on the ticket as well. Someone needs to challenge this guy
and reveal just who is the real racist. Sizer does not like
Jews.
Critics of this event are scorned for not considering the issues
of peace, justice, and reconciliation. The truth is, we
recognize only the millennial kingdom as a time of peace and
justice. Reconciliation with the Palestinians is not possible
due to their corrupt leadership. The Arab world has wanted the
Palestinian people to be political pawns for 60 years so they
stuck them in squalid refugee camps decades ago. That is the
real reason there can be no peace. Hard line Hamas and Fatah
leadership stand in the way, not the Israelis. This conference
will not address that.
The tragic roots of Replacement Theology can be cited as the
fuel driving events like this. The church did not replace
Israel. If God could forsake the Jew, He could also turn His
back on the Christian. Replacement Theology allowed the church
to go along with Adolph Hitler 75 years ago. God forbid the
church participates -- or looks the other way -- in some future
Holocaust. Frankly, Replacement Theology replaces reality.
Even some solid evangelicals were perplexed as to how all the
promises to Israel could unfold before the 1940s. When it
blossomed in 1948, students of the Bible should have
collectively stood up and cheered and not jeered as a few
denominations did. Today the "miracle of the millennium" is
living proof that God is not a liar. "Christ at the Checkpoint"
will not talk about this. Instead they will grumble about
Israel's brutal "occupation." Jesus lived and ministered in that
"occupied territory" but that won't change their perspective.
Words like "occupation" and "checkpoint" are incendiary --
almost war-like. I realize my response could be as well. Ever
feel like you can't take it anymore? With apologies, I
acknowledge that's where I'm at.